Anti-abortion protestors in Nebraska
After it was announced Saturday that Senator Ben Nelson D-NE had agreed to vote with the Senate Democratic caucus on health care reform, the Associated Press reported that Senator Nelson faces some fierce repercussions for his compromise from anti-abortion constituents in his home state of Nebraska.
Senator Nelson fought hard against his pet peeve, abortions, and though he had lost a vote several days earlier on an amendment he’d proposed, similar to the Stupak amendment in the House which would forbid any insurer in the insurance exchange "to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion." Opponents to this amendment argued that it would lead many insurers to drop coverage for abortions as opposed to being left out of the lucrative exchange intended to give individuals who don’t get coverage from their employers. Most of these people would also qualify for federal subsidies to help defray the cost. Despite that defeat, and despite the lies of the Far Right, the federal government would still not in anyway subsidize abortions.
Senator Nelson did however get some valuable concessions for his state. He craftily leveraged his position as the final holdout, to get Nebraska a single-state permanent exemption from contributing to the states’ share of the Medicaid expansion written into the bill, which will mean the other states will need to contribute an additional $45 million in the first decade to cover Nebraska’s share. He also got a concession on the abortion issue in that states can opt out of allowing plans that cover abortion in the insurance exchanges, but apparently for anti-abortion proponents in Nebraska that’s not enough.
Senator Nelson did the right thing for his constituents and the country. Despite what anti-abortion activists in Nebraska and elsewhere around the nation believe or want, access to legal abortion remains the law in this country and their efforts to limit that access to women will fail as long as the U.S. Supreme court supports a women’s right to choice, and limits the government’s ability to legislate an individual’s reproductive system. Nelson must have learned his lesson from his time as governor in Nebraska when in 2000 the U.S. Supreme Court struck-down a statewide ban on abortions in Nebraska which he had signed into law as governor in 1997.
But apparently for anti-abortion proponents in his home state, the compromise Nelson achieved is not enough. Senator Nelson may face an unhappy constituency of Republicans and pro-life Democrats and independents, but they should applaud his efforts and the fact that he had the courage to compromise on what may be the most important issue Americans have faced in decades. Health care reform opponents have tried to use many tactics including the hot-button abortion issue to derail health care reform claiming they want save babies lives. Nobody can rightly say that abortion is something that is easy to accept, but the same people who want the government to force women to have babies against their will, and want to force women back to the days of backroom, black market abortions, hypocritically opposed a government run single-payer system or even a public option based on the argument that the government should not make health care decisions for any individual concerning their own body.
Health care reform cannot be allowed to be killed based solely on the abortion issue, because it will save the lives of living, breathing people of all ages.
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Photo credit: Photo credit: An opponent of President Obama's health care overhaul poses with a banner during a demonstration outside the offices of Sen. Ben Nelson D-Neb., in Omaha, Neb., Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009. Democratic leaders in Washington were trying to finalize language restricting abortion coverage that could secure the support of moderate Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Sources: Associated Press, Kansas City.com, Washington Post.com, Chicago Tribune.com, Sun Times.com, Politico.com
Comments
You wrote, “Access to legal abortion remains the law in this country” Yes, it does, but it does not logically follow that those who are morally opposed to legal abortion should have to pay for their fellow citizens to have abortions.
No mention that he was bribed with free Medicare for life if he promised to vote yes. For LIFE, yes!
Right thing? Yeah he sold his vote to the higgest bidder.
Please sign our emergency Petition to Senator Ben Nelson: Just Say No!! huckpac.com
"Write Kyl, McCain, Cornyn, Sessions and McConnell demanding Reid, Ben Nelson and Sanders be charged with and prosecuted for the federal crime of bribery under 18 USC § 201. Reid bought votes with public money and Nelson and Sanders sold their votes for benefits for themselves and the citizens of Nebraska and Vermont to the detriment of the citizens of the other states.
It is up to the Senators to put a stop to these criminal actions. The Department of Justice won't investigate and the courts will not hear the charges unless the Senators themselves take the necessary political action to begin the process of enforcing our criminal laws.
Have the Senators and House members done this before without being called thieves and criminal conspirators? Yes, but it is time for it to stop. Congress is destroying our nation.
We are witnessing on a daily basis the largest theft of the public treasury that has ever happened in human history."
patriotsforamerica.ning.com
Please let Sen. Nelson know that you will join me in doing everything you can to defeat him, in his next election. By allowing this monstrosity to move forward he can start looking for different work.
Senator Nelson had the opportunity to be a hero to the
American people and he blew it...sold out.
There's also the little nit that all of this is completely unconstitutional.
Ben Nelson is nothing more than a prostitute. I actually thought there would be one senator who would MAN-UP and stand against the bribes and threats of the White-House Thug Squad. GD Judas!
Does anybody know the dates that our Constitution is going lie in state in the capitol Rotunda for public viewing prior to final shredding burial? I would like to travel to DC to pay my final respects to the document that every politician in Washington swore an oath to protect and defend. I guess that oath is just hollow words to them because are aggressively and melodiously and shredding before our very eyes. God bless you and rest in peace Constitution you were a grand document until you no longer became relevant.
well, some people are morally opposed to seeing medical doctors but we still force them to pay for health care through their taxes. seriously people, you can't legislate morality and you can't control what women do with their own bodies. so why don't you just persuade by example?
Even if the anti-abortion language had been added to this monstrosity, there is nothing pro-life about this bill. It is a government power grab that will give us an even greater tax burden so that the Feds can tell us what we can and can't do for health care; as such, it will continue to push up the premiums for those of us who don't want such "help"! People will die because of this. And those that live, will have their desire to live taken from them--especially doctors and insurance agents, whose livelihoods will be directly affected.
Our problems with health care began in the 1930s, when Government tried to regulate how much people would get paid; our problems intensified when Government tried to do what they thought was *best* for us. This latest power-grab is yet another extension of what's wrong with Health Care.
Mr. Nelson, i will withhold the term Senator b/c this he is not, is nothing more than sell-out. the liberal media, like you, will portray him as doing right by his constituents, but wrong by the other 49 states in the union. how can doing something right for only his state, be the correct thing to do for this country? i would call him a coward, cheat, and scoundrel who should be prosecuted for using his position to obtain favors - it's called bribery.
The House of Reps version of health care reform has a public option in it. The Senate version does not.
In the end, the House of Reps and the Senate will have to work their bills out to craft a final bill to be voted on. Many House Democrats have said that they will not vote yes on health care reform if it does not have a public option.
Here is what it all comes down to: forget Lieberman and the other Democratic Senators who have betrayed us all and said no to a public option. The House needs to stand firm. Period.
If Democrats in the House of Reps cave in, go back on their promise, and vote yes on a final bill that does not have a public option in it - they need to be primaried in 2010.
Sen. Nelson made promises to the people of Nebraska that he would not support a bill that 1. Raised Taxes 2. Paid for Abortions. He was fully aware of the fact that 67% of Nebraskans were opposed to the Healthcare Bill. Yet he has stated that he will vote for the current bill. We expect our Congressmen and Senators to represent the values and viewsof the majority. Again, 67% of Nebraskan's were opposed to the healthcare bill. He did not represent the majority. Instead he was bought off by Harry Reid. What a bribe!!! I am ashamed that he represents us and will do all I can to make sure that he is not re-elected. He betrayed us.
Bendover Ben screwed us again
I hope whoever runs against Reid will bring out the fact that now Utah taxpayers will not only be paying for their own state's cost of medicaid, they will also need to pony up for Nebraska's also. (and maybe New Orleans also.)
Glad our senator signed us up for a socialist country. The US is supposed to be ran by the people not the goverment. Thanks Ben!
For the first time in my lifetime I'm witnessing a govt that REFUSES to represent the majority. Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and of course Nelson are all whores. They are the worst kind of people we could have in our country. Shame on all of you.
Nelson doesn't represent the country's needs in medical care fella.
Only his constituents.
Many of you fail to realize that the people against this are against it because the people who hired them don't want it.
The party of no represents the people's choice of no.
I suspect most will come to see this reality in November.
And whatever passes this year in health care will be revoked and awaiting the signature of the new President in 2012. All legal. And all will happen.
Any time you get the government involved into something, look out.
If this healthcare reform goes through in ANY form at all, we can expect taxes on everything we eat, drink, or do for the res our lives. Don't say it will not happen. Look at all the restrictions already in place on those who receive medicaid. That's a start.
Anything the government will see as being "bad" for us, will be held to regulation. Either in the form of banned goods, higher taxes for producers, or higher taxes for the end consumer. Because all of these goods affect our health.
The government is not there to take care of us. And yet the past hundred years, this ideology has been gaining more and more steam. No,..it's nothing new. But in my 48 years, I have never seen anything of the likes that I've witnessed this year from Washington.
They need to be held accountable. The Democrats are turning the country into a welfare state. And the Republican's aren't much better either.
a country run by the people- YEAH RIGHT- guess that's why we had the idiot bush for 8 yrs- they have spend enough time and tax payer money on the hill to pay insurance premioums for thousands of americans. as they all sit in their grand chairs and talk out of both sides of their mouths- Obama may not be perfect, but he is TRYING to change some things- the assorted messes we are in were started a LONG time before Obama- some of you need to get of the cross.
The right thing...what is the basis of your norm for right or wrong? BETTER DEAD THAN OBAMA RED - my military service was for not, as the enemies are domestic, and not simply foreign. Sell your life, your honor, your family; but do not sell my freedom - I fought for it unlike you and your treasonous lot.
I am responsible for my own deeds and debts. Now with the Social Democratic Party of America (no longer the party of my father, or father's father), the rape of America begins for the common class...we now have the means to totally make America a dictatorship Stalin-style. Health care problems stem from the Democratic Party's ties to health care, pharmaceutical and insurance industries (Sen. Ted Kennedy being the biggest hypocrite of them all). The highest campaign funding of any Presidential candidate from these same industries - Barak Obama.
Revolution is around the corner between the patriots and the loyalists. 26% do - the rest never do, this time there is no middle ground.
Keep government out of our health care.
Write your Senators and Representatives today. There's a long way to go and it's not too late.
To TWM: It's too bad you're so ignorant and naive. While Bush wasn't perfect, you have to consider the mess he was handed. He took office right after the stock market bubble popped, and a recession came with it. Several months later 9/11 hit us. And in 2006 the real estate bubble popped, a bubble that was created by Clinton when he pushed subprime lending. Roughly 50% of the loans on Fannie Mae's books were subprime by the time Bush took office in Jan 2001. The subprime train wreck was gaining momentum long before Bush took over. Bush was mostly unlucky and happened to be in charge when the symptoms of Clinton's bad policies hit hard. Obama and the Dems had a great opportunity to do smart, common sense things to get the US back on track, but they've screwed it up in a big way. Just about everything they're doing is retarded and we will suffer for generations. It's bad enough they're pushing Socialism, it's even worse that they're filthy whores.
Obama blows
Wow, now there's something to be proud of--selling your vote. I remember when that was both shameful and criminal. I am committed to organizing against him until he's gone.
By selling out as did every democrat so far has done, taking bribes, shows your character and they have definetly shown theirs!!!They can not be trusted!!
We the people are not being represented by those we have hired. So therefore we must fire each and every senator from office that has voted for this bill. If we did not do our jobs to the satisfaction of our bosses we would be fired. These senators and congressmen and women must suffer the same consqences of their actions. They are not doing what their bosses want done. We the people.
Do you think fully 2/3rd of our state is making this a one issue item? This is the state the constantly votes democrat and republican, often electing Presidents of one party and then senators or governors of another. Indicating we don't vote lamb like you zealots on either side of the fence. WE DON'T want this reform cause it stinks. I could care less about abortion. So get it right. the 60% of this country that is middle, needs to take it back.
the money didn't hurt either; yet another prostitute in the upper chamber!
WHAT WE NEED ARE STATESMEN, NOT POLITICIANS WHO CARE MORE ABOUT THEIR PARTY THAN THEY DO ABOUT OUR COUNTRY......IT IS A SAD DAY FOR ALL AMERICANS WHEN POLITICIANS REACH FOR POWER THROUGH SOCIALISM. CONGRATULATIONS SEN. NELSON, YOU JUST KICKED US IN THE STOMACH.
Nelson has a habit of sitting on the fence waiting for the masses to come to him, and to give him the attention he craves. We have seen this time and time again as a Senator. Though he usually votes the party line, this time the repercussions are not going to to be easy to excuse. party over morals has its costs!
biggovernment.com/2009/12/21/monday-open-thread-nebraska-edition/
Is the Nebraska bribe legal?
Nelson has a habit of sitting on the fence waiting for the masses to come to him, and to give him the attention he craves. We have seen this time and time again as a Senator. Though he usually votes the party line, this time the repercussions are not going to to be easy to excuse. party over morals has its costs!
Nelson was likely the one who supported the 10% tanning bed tax as well.....a tax for white people.
Where's the 10% tax on hair gel to pay for cocaine rehab in health care???
First it was smokers. Now white people. Next are the ones who drink sodas. And eat too much.
All this and liberals still refuse to see why people are saying the current Democrat party are robbing us of our freedoms.
Not robbing persay.....just charging you a fee for your choices.
oh yes, Nebraska, their Senators are as good as the football team the last several years, making the newslines but always terrible!
For all of you who want Obamacare, consider the fact the per-capita income in the USA is far greater than in most other industrialized countries that have socialized health care. Govt run health care is expensive, taxes will increase significantly, and our standard of living will decline. Just look at the facts:
PER-CAPITA INCOMES 2008
Canada $39,200
France $33,300
Germany $35,500
Japan $34,100
UK $36,700
USA $47,500
Source: CIA World Factbook
Nothing is free. If we take a Socialist path, it will benefit some, but it will hurt the vast majority. The stats tossed around in this health care debate have been deceptive. The true number of people who want health care but can’t afford it is VERY small. We don’t need a massive govt-run system to provide benefits to a few million people. Obama and most of the Dems are dumb, arrogant, and I believe they are evil. They will get destroyed for pushing this crap down our throats.
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